Help troubleshooting a bridge pup that is dead

AA00475Bassman · Apr 7, 2018

So you really feel this Yaron is above your new Brazilian R9 ? How about the Duane does this Compare ? Over all build ,sound , of your RI Gibson Guitars ?

Pellman73 · Apr 7, 2018

AA00475Bassman said:
So you really feel this Yaron is above your new Brazilian R9 ? How about the Duane does this Compare ? Over all build ,sound , of your RI Gibson Guitars ?

Do you really want to know?

BTW I took the bridge pup out of the R9-- and now we are good to go. it was a bad pup.

Yes-- there its above the Braz R9. Old wood basically tone chosen by a master... there is a resonance, a chime, a bloom that just crushes anything I've ever played as a les paul-- that includes a standard 2003 honeyburst, a CC 15, the Duane (basically an R8 or 9 w a chunky neck) and the braz R9. Everything sounds like all the old things that you wanted a les paul to sound like. Hideaway sounds like Hideaway. Funk 49 sounds like Funk 49, blue sky sounds like blue sky, just got paid sounds like just got paid. Your brain registers this aha moment like "yes this is what I was looking for"

The Build quality is excellent but nothing that I can tell a whole lot different than the braz r9 except the top curve-- I"m going to do a thread in the "other" section and I tried to get a better shot of the top carve

The Duane looked really cool and had this big woody masculine sound but was like a club to the head a little bit-- this is much more refined, the chimey highs and the resonsance and the overtones? if you will-- and sustain.

Its spectacular-- its a keeper I would think. you never know I guess but it would be hard to improve on this without spending a crapload more money

I love the headstock because its honest-- it says, "this is not a les paul. its a les paul type guitar WINK".

rick c · Apr 7, 2018

Pellman73: your video showed exactly what I described with my ES-335. It is highly likely that a copper winding wire is broken at the soldered joint inside the pup. If you want to fix the pup then just do as I described, carefully cut or desolder the two blobs so the cover can be removed and then carefully inspect the pup innards for the bad connection; it's clearly like mine was; very small and tight, it may be difficult to see, especially if wax is in the way. When you find which winding wire has come loose, more likely broken but still in contact with the soldered joint, simply unwind the wire one loop and cut it leaving you enough material to resolder to the pup wire. Very carefully scrape off the insulating layer on the winding wire end with a really sharp knife or razor blade. Then just resolder the winding wire end to the pup wire and you should be good to go.

It may be necessary to remove wax; just warm the pup wires with your soldering iron. It may be necessary to soften the wax around the pup coils to unwind one loop of winding wire; this wire is really thin and easily broken if you pull too hard.

Pellman73 · Apr 7, 2018

rick c said:
Pellman73: your video showed exactly what I described with my ES-335. It is highly likely that a copper winding wire is broken at the soldered joint inside the pup. If you want to fix the pup then just do as I described, carefully cut or desolder the two blobs so the cover can be removed and then carefully inspect the pup innards for the bad connection; it's clearly like mine was; very small and tight, it may be difficult to see, especially if wax is in the way. When you find which winding wire has come loose, more likely broken but still in contact with the soldered joint, simply unwind the wire one loop and cut it leaving you enough material to resolder to the pup wire. Very carefully scrape off the insulating layer on the winding wire end with a really sharp knife or razor blade. Then just resolder the winding wire end to the pup wire and you should be good to go.

It may be necessary to remove wax; just warm the pup wires with your soldering iron. It may be necessary to soften the wax around the pup coils to unwind one loop of winding wire; this wire is really thin and easily broken if you pull too hard.

thanks man. The fella I got the guitar from is going to get another Gil Yaron pup made and sent to me I think— and if he doesn’t want this broke one I’ll totally try what you said. Right now I am good as the guitar works w the other pickup and I don’t want to mess w it until the rest of the situation shakes out.

Weird problem to happen

AA00475Bassman · Apr 8, 2018

Do you really want to know? As I may catch the heat I do believe as good or better Les Paul can be built than was ever any year built by Gibson !

Pellman73 · Apr 8, 2018

AA00475Bassman said:
Do you really want to know? As I may catch the heat I do believe as good or better Les Paul can be built than was ever any year built by Gibson !

I think that is probably true.

Mars Hall · Apr 9, 2018

Pellman73 said:
thanks man. The fella I got the guitar from is going to get another Gil Yaron pup made and sent to me I think— and if he doesn’t want this broke one I’ll totally try what you said. Right now I am good as the guitar works w the other pickup and I don’t want to mess w it until the rest of the situation shakes out.

Weird problem to happen

Gil Yaron winds his pickups and chooses magnets based on each individual guitar. I would try to fix the original pup, if were you.

Pellman73 · Apr 10, 2018

Mars Hall said:
Gil Yaron winds his pickups and chooses magnets based on each individual guitar. I would try to fix the original pup, if were you.

Its already happening!!

thanks Mars-- yes-- and isn't that crazy-- this guy is really incredible.

Gil is awesome. I've contacted him and he is really nice. He's in Scottsdale now-- and the pup is back on its way to him. Today

I have also purchased a set of his PAFs-- his wife winds them-- I'll keep the cover on but they'll be double whites!

they are going in my r9 Braz green lemon. these things happen. I cannibalized the R9 for the bridge pup to get the Yaron working-- then I'm sending the original yaron pup back to Gil-- and I think "well-- why don't I just put some Gil PAFs in the green lemon? One email later its done!"

this is a great example of a silver lined cloud.

Mars Hall · Apr 10, 2018

Pellman73 said:
Its already happening!!

thanks Mars-- yes-- and isn't that crazy-- this guy is really incredible.

Gil is awesome. I've contacted him and he is really nice. He's in Scottsdale now-- and the pup is back on its way to him. Today

I have also purchased a set of his PAFs-- his wife winds them-- I'll keep the cover on but they'll be double whites!

they are going in my r9 Braz green lemon. these things happen. I cannibalized the R9 for the bridge pup to get the Yaron working-- then I'm sending the original yaron pup back to Gil-- and I think "well-- why don't I just put some Gil PAFs in the green lemon? One email later its done!"

this is a great example of a silver lined cloud.

Great news! Gil responded to some of my queries when I found my Yaron9. It's great that he is accessible.

From your photo, the pots look to be dated 2013. It's possible your guitar is documented in the build thread. That thread hangs in there for several years. Whenever he modified a build step or introduce a different burst color/fade, he'd post pictures of the results. I enjoyed reading that thread so much! It was like watching my guitar being built, even though my particular guitar wasn't documented there.

Pellman73 · Apr 10, 2018

Mars Hall said:
Great news! Gil responded to some of my queries when I found my Yaron9. It's great that he is accessible.

From your photo, the pots look to be dated 2013. It's possible your guitar is documented in the build thread. That thread hangs in there for several years. Whenever he modified a build step or introduce a different burst color/fade, he'd post pictures of the results. I enjoyed reading that thread so much! It was like watching my guitar being built, even though my particular guitar wasn't documented there.

COA says 2011—. It’s 9 0259. — does that mean its the 259th he made?

bout how many do you think he did?

Mars Hall · Apr 10, 2018

Pellman73 said:
COA says 2011—. It’s 9 0259. — does that mean its the 259th he made?

bout how many do you think he did?

Hmmm, I don't have a COA with mine, 9-0144 built in 2012 is what I was told. Most of my info comes from the build thread. From reading there, I learned that some serial numbers were requested by the person who commissioned the guitar. As far as production numbers, again referring to the thread, he made 3 guitars at a time and those would take about 3 months to complete all 3. The first "proto" was built 2010 and production ceased 2015 when Gibson stepped in. 12 guitars a year for 5 years, if he maintained that build schedule. I'm guessing it's less than 60 in order to fill requests for other models.

AA00475Bassman · Apr 10, 2018

A Yaron 59 dot 335 replica just appeared on reverb Beautiful !

Mars Hall · Apr 10, 2018

AA00475Bassman said:
A Yaron 59 dot 335 replica just appeared on reverb Beautiful !

If it's the one I'm thinking of, I've played it and its a killer...

AA00475Bassman · Apr 10, 2018

It has a very subtle flame and really looks killer!

Pellman73 · Apr 10, 2018

Mars Hall said:
Hmmm, I don't have a COA with mine, 9-0144 built in 2012 is what I was told. Most of my info comes from the build thread. From reading there, I learned that some serial numbers were requested by the person who commissioned the guitar. As far as production numbers, again referring to the thread, he made 3 guitars at a time and those would take about 3 months to complete all 3. The first "proto" was built 2010 and production ceased 2015 when Gibson stepped in. 12 guitars a year for 5 years, if he maintained that build schedule. I'm guessing it's less than 60 in order to fill requests for other models.

Copy that

Ameliarobert · Apr 16, 2018

This is a nice and informative post Thanks!

Pellman73 · Apr 17, 2018

ok so here's what happened

I sent the pup to GIl last week. He got it friday

Emailed me today that it was a solder touching the top plate-- fixed in a jiff

also wound me the double whites and has sent all three pups back back to me today

I've got a new 50s wiring throbak harness with PIO bumblebees and i'm gonna put that in my r9 braz with the new gil yaron pups (oh yea!)

and then put the gil back to stock

every cloud has a silver lining (sometimes)!

stoked about this!!

Mars Hall · Apr 17, 2018

Pellman73 said:
ok so here's what happened

I sent the pup to GIl last week. He got it friday

Emailed me today that it was a solder touching the top plate-- fixed in a jiff

also wound me the double whites and has sent all three pups back back to me today

I've got a new 50s wiring throbak harness with PIO bumblebees and i'm gonna put that in my r9 braz with the new gil yaron pups (oh yea!)

and then put the gil back to stock

every cloud has a silver lining (sometimes)!

stoked about this!!

Great news! Glad it worked out for you.

Help troubleshooting a bridge pup that is dead

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